Clash of the Dreadnaughts

How about a Zep-vs-Zep match? Anyone that loved the MSN zone for Crimson Skies online playing back in the days, loves this mission! The military Hughes Aviation Zeppelin "Gemini" against our own "Pandora". Waves of enemy fighters with blazing guns and the "Gemini" with anti-aircraft guns, broadside cannons, and turrets try to bring the Fortune Hunters down to their doom... Zachary's plan is simple and classic: 2 for the fighters, 2 for the Zep's engines, 2 for the cannons' hatches and all together praying that the Pandora will survive the attack!

Recommended Plane
Any agile dogfighter with 15-25 armor and 2-3 hardpoints should be good for this mission (Brigand, Fury, Bloodhawk, Kestrell, Devastator).

Another approach if you want to carry torpedoes to bring down the "Gemini" quickly, is the Warhawk or the Firebrand. But you will have to either leave the enemy Bloodhawks to your wingmen, or fight them from a distance.

Walkthrough
After launching from the Pandora, you'll immediately be facing the 1st wave of enemy fighters: 3 Hughes Aviation Kestrels and 2 Hughes Aviation Bloodhawks. The Kestrels will focus on Pandora's engines, while the Bloodhawks mainly focus on your squadron. After shooting down the 1st fighter Zachary asks: "Any sign of the Gemini?", and after shooting down the 3rd or 4th fighter he says "another wave of enemy fighters inbound from the North". So a good strategy for this first part is to shoot down 2 Kestrels first (on your first head-on if you can), and then shoot down 2 Bloodhawks leaving 1 Kestrel in the end for easy shooting or for your gang to finish. This minimizes damage to you and your Zep.

The 2nd wave of enemy fighters (comes after you shoot down the 1st wave's 3rd or 4th fighter) will approach from the North and try to do the exact same thing. What's more similar, the 2nd wave is consisted of the same number and type of planes: 3 Hughes Aviation Kestrels and 2 Hughes Aviation Bloodhawks! Follow the same tactic, and after the 4th fighter is down, Sparks will announce that he spotted the Gemini in the clouds. After about half a minute, the Gemini will launch 5 more Hughes Aviation Bloodhawks, and after about a minute the Gemini will position itself to fire at Pandora.

After its appearance, 2 of your planes will engage the enemy fighters, 2 will go for Gemini's engines, and Jack will be aiming at the open hatches (rather unsuccessfully) that trigger gasbag explosions. There are a lot of ways to destroy the Gemini and end this mission. The easier way: First aim for the engines before the last Bloodhawks are launched (you should be able to shoot down 2 or more engines). Then quickly destroy at least 3 Bloodhawks (or all of them), and finally aim for the open hatches that target your Zeppelin. The Gemini has 3 gasbags with 2 broadside cannons (and hatches) on each gasbag, which means that you will have to shoot or fire a rocket inside 3 out of 6 open hatches in one side. Keep an ear out for the warning sound of hatches opening, as they will open in turns from Gemini's tail to its nose. Don't forget to speed down when aiming at the Gemini, to have enough time for firing inside open hatches. Note that, especially when using a light-duty plane such as the Bloodhawk, you will be extremely vulnerable to the Gemini's defensive fire during your attack run. A little time spent picking off her turrets will reward you.

After all 3 of the Gemini's gasbags explode and the Pandora has enough engines and gasbags, the Gemini will fall into the sea and the option to dock with the Pandora and end this mission will be available. If there are any remaining Bloodhawks they will run away and you can chase them if you have a fast plane.

The Gemini
It's really fun to show off your skills by destroying all enemy fighters and completely crippling the Gemini Zeppelin before you destroy any of its gasbags! To achieve this, you must know the zeppelin's attributes:

-5 Gasbags long (Nose & Tail included) -14 Engines (7 in each side) -12 Broadside Cannons (6 in each side) -1 Top Anti-Aircraft Gun -1 Nose Anti-Aircraft Gun -8 Side Turrets (4 in each side) -4 Belly Turrets

After you clear out every enemy aircraft, try to take out all of the engines until the Gemini remains dead still. Next shoot and destroy every turret and the top rocket launchers. You can now enjoy a completely crippled Gemini standing still! However, the Gemini will stop opening its hatches now, because the Pandora is out of range. So the only way to end the mission is to fire aerial torpedoes on 3 of the gasbags! (which means you need to have them from the loadout before the mission starts)

Stunts
There are no stunts in this mission.